


And I See

by xanemarths



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Genre: Multi, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Tactician, Pining, Polyamory, references to other pairings - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 13:56:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10219745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xanemarths/pseuds/xanemarths
Summary: A tactician must be observant, if nothing else.(fe rarepair week; dancing/watching)





	

**Author's Note:**

> people who've known me for a while on ao3: hey princey are you ever going to write more Elimark  
> me, on this, fe rarepairweek 2k17: oh, yes  
> people: coo-  
> me: but what if... Eliwood and Mark... also both love Ninian.... who also loves them back  
> people: wh-  
> me: also Mark is nonbinary  
> me: and you can't stop me.
> 
> title from the song "Free Translator", which is my go-to Tactician song

Tacticians always have to be observant; to notice the strengths and weaknesses of the army, to notice when the tide of a battle is turning, to notice an opportune moment to strike, to notice when bonds are building between warriors. To their mind, they are average at this. They’re neither too good, nor too bad; they’re just observant enough to do their job.

They watch how Florina always sticks close to Lyn, sometimes even behind her; when they send the sometimes-struggling pegasus knight to aid her in battle, she always seems to improve. They watch Kent’s disapproval of Sain’s flirting, and how sometimes those eyes seem to hold something more akin to jealousy, and how sometimes Sain’s eyes flash to Kent when asked about what he loves most. They see many things, many people, many sparks of friendship, and love, and affection.

And they see how _those two_ are dancing around each other (oh, ha, ha, Mark, quite clever of you, she’s a dancer) - and for reasons they will not admit to themself, it hurts.

(They still remember the first time they saw them - the gentleness the young lord had in his face, how terribly concerned he’d been, the way he smiled like the sun - the dancer’s anxiousness, just as bad as if not worse than their own, and how genuinely upset she’d been, and how they’d wanted nothing more than to help her, even if it meant throwing the army into a situation which made less tactical sense than they’d somehow convinced Lyn that it would.)

It is their duty to do what’s best for the army, though, and to pair up a strong young lord (even if he cannot see it, even if he calls Hector the stronger man) with someone who cannot fight for herself but can encourage him to keep fighting is probably advantageous, right? Or so they tell themself as their hands shake inside their overlarge green sleeves (why couldn’t they at least have one of them? That they both fell in love, never mind falling in love with each other - oh, don’t be so selfish, Mark.)

It’s pure accident that they happened to observe those two dancing; they feel like they’re intruding on something private just by doing so, and yet they cannot tear their eyes away-

They stand there too long, and to their utter mortification, they’re noticed. Rather than becoming angry, though, the two seem mostly embarrassed, and, after a moment’s recovery, they ask if the tactician would perhaps care to join them for a dance?

Oh, no, no, they cannot dance, they are sure of having two left feet, but they can sing-

Then would you care to sing? Oh, no, definitely not, now you’re watching, I most certainly cannot do that…

Eventually, though, they find a tune that they do not remember, but which feels familiar all the same; a song of calming, lullaby-like, like something they might have heard as a child. There is a rapt silence while they sing, and when they finish, they look up at their companions, ready to downplay what was surely a horrid performance-

But, why, Mark! That’s the most beautiful singing voice we’ve ever heard! Where did you hear that song - I’ve never heard it in all Elibe, it sounds wonderful, though, would you care to sing wome more? Oh, but we’ve already pressed you so much already, perhaps we shouldn’t-

Somehow, though, despite all their anxieties, they feel as though they would very much like to sing for those two again. This time, though, the tune is familiar to all of them; Eliwood surprises them by knowing how to play along on guitar, and Ninian dances, and somehow they end up dancing with her, and they almost notice that the song is a love song.

A song, a tune, a dance, and in the comfort of that evening, they can almost believe that their feelings are returned.

(In the end, superior mind though they are, they were utterly blind to that one thing; all that a lord and a dancer can do is pray for them to find a way home.)


End file.
